Entosthodon pocsii N. Wilding, 2017

Wilding, Nicholas, 2017, Three new species of Entosthodon Schwägr. (Bryopsida, Funariaceae) from sub-Saharan Africa, Phytotaxa 312 (1), pp. 103-110 : 105

Entosthodon pocsii N. Wilding , sp. nov. ( Fig. 2 )

Diagnosis:—Differing from all other species of the genus Entosthodon by its concave, ovate to oblong-obovate, short acuminate, entire, leaves and its ± upright, radially symmetric, peristomate capsules and finely verrucate-lirate spores.

Type:— TANZANIA. Njombe District: Kipengere range, between Mts. Ishinga and Sanshashi Hill, 2400–2600 m, 26 May 1987, S. Iversen, E. Persson, B. Petterson & T. Pócs 87145/D ( BOL, holotype!; isotype EGR!) .

Plants small, light-green. Stems reddish-brown, to 5 mm high, branching multiple times by sub-perigonial innovation; in cross-section with 1–2 layers of thick-walled cortical cells, a hyalodermis and a central strand; rhizoids cerise. Leaves erect-spreading, little contorted when dry, ovate to oblong-obovate, 1.2–2 × 0.4–0.9 mm, concave, short-acuminate, entire, aristate or not, arista if present to 400 μm; cells of upper lamina quadrate to oblong-hexagonal, 23–55 × (10)15–30(35) μm; basal cells 62–150(188) × (15)20–35(43) μm; marginal cells longer and narrower near apex; costae ending below apex to excurrent.

Polyoicous. Setae 5–7 mm long, straight, pale-yellow to reddish-brown. Capsules erect to inclined, radially symmetric or with slight bend in neck, oblong-pyriform, 1.2–1.7 × 0.5–0.8 mm, weakly constricted below mouth when dry, yellow to reddish-brown at maturity, with a well differentiated neck ca. ½ total length of capsule; mouth transverse, ca. ⅔ diameter of capsule; exothecial cells (30)40–68 × 10–20 μm, in cross-section with thick, strongly cuneate anticlinal walls, 3–6 rows of oblate cells at mouth. Opercula plano-convex, cells not or slightly twisted anti-clockwise from above. Peristome double and rudimentary; exostome teeth straight, irregular in shape, orange, tapered to an acute or rounded apex, sometimes becoming hyaline in upper ⅓, to 175 μm high and 60 μm wide at base, finely papillose to verrucate-lirate, trabeculate, weakly appendiculate; endostome teeth rudimentary, smooth, hyaline, to 40 μm high and 22 μm wide. Spores 27–38 μm, tetrahedral, finely papillose-lirate. Calyptrae cucullate, rostrate.

Additional specimens examined: TANZANIA. Arusha N. P.: 9 June 1990, T. Pócs, D. Harrison & J. M. Mushy 90130/ UV ( BOL, EGR) ; Njombe District: Kipengere Range , 26 May 1987, S. Iversen, E. Persson, B. Petterson & T. Pócs 87145/ N ( BOL, EGR) .

Etymology: The species is named in honour of Tamas Pócs for his immense work on the African bryophyte flora and attention to even the smallest species of Entosthodon .

Habitat and Distribution: The species is known from only three collections in Tanzania, two in the Kipengere Range and one from Arusha National Park, where it occurs at high elevations ca. 2700 m.

Note: Phylogenetic analyses (Wilding et al. in prep.) place E. pocsii sister to E. pertenellus Brotherus (1913: 737) Kis (1985: 220) another African endemic (see: Wilding et al. 2013). The two species share a similar habitat and both possess a leaf architecture that can be highly variable among populations. E. pocsii differs from E. pertenellus by the presence of a peristome.

Macroscopically, the species may also be confused with E. bergianus Hornschuch (1820: 59) Müller (1848: 126) . However, their spore ornamentations differ and E. bergianus is generally larger and the costa is never excurrent.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Entosthodon pocsii. 1. Habit, dry (S. Iversen, E. Persson, B. Petterson & T. Pócs, 87145/D, BOL); 2–5. Leaves (2 ‒ as for 1; 3—5 ‒ S. Iversen, E. Persson, B. Petterson & T. Pócs, 87145/N, BOL); 6, 7. Leaf apex (6 ‒ as for 1; 7 ‒ as for 3); 8. Leaf cross-section (as for 3); 9. Capsule, dry (T. Pócs, D. Harrison & J.M. Mushy 90130/UV, (BOL, EGR); 10. Capsule mouth & peristome (as for 3); 11. Operculum (as for 1); 12. Spores (as for 1). Scale bars: A (2–5) = 500 μm; B (10) = 100 μm; C (1, 9) = 1 mm; D (8) = 100 μm; E (12) = 50 μm; F (11) = 100 μm; G (6, 7) = 100 μm.